Rural Europe on the move English_chap7_13 | Page 35

Surviving below sea level
Raising awareness
of Climate Change
2018 is a very hot and dry summer.
Some older islanders talk of the
hottest and driest summer ever. There
Alongside rising sea levels, are we plaintiffs of a court case against
also facing regular drought? There the German Federal Government,
are many unanswered questions and supported by Greenpeace. The
concerns at our round tables ... and a accusation indicts “the Federal
high level of attention. government’s inaction on climate
Thirty years ago, we had no clue
change”. Their arguments have gained
is very little grass for the cattle, the what climate change meant. This strong interest in the German public
soil is deeply dried out and it is very year Silke and Jörg Backsen, organic debate.
difficult to gather winter silage or hay. farmers on the island, have joined a Is this the result of climate change? group of German mainland farmer
One of the guests at the round
table of the fishbowl session is
PE OP LE !
Silke Backsen, young organic farmer on Pellworm island and member of
Ökologisch Wirtschaften!, has challenged the German Federal Government
for not fulfilling Germany’s commitments on fighting climate change. Together
with two other farmer families on the German continent and with the support
of Greenpeace Germany she and her husband accuse the federal government
of having “ceased its activities on climate protection without any legal basis
and without sufficient statement of reasons or justification”. The plaintiffs regard
this inactivity in climate protection as an inadmissible encroachment on their
fundamental rights to “life and health”, “freedom to choose an occupation” and
“property guarantee”. In addition, they accuse the federal government of having
neglected its duty to protect citizens. Apart from being organic farmer, Silke is
an activist in nature conservation as part of her farming practices. Her special
attention focuses on preserving the high diversity of permanent grassland plants,
insects and birds on the wadden sea and Pellworm island.
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